Sleep Deprived
by Brightness Davar
Summary: A look into the minds of our favorite Arendellian sisters and how they each deal with what happened after the Thaw. Two-shot.
1. Anna

**So this was something that I've been wondering about.**

 **Disney owns Frozen, I'm just borrowing them to figure them out.**

 **Enjoy :)**

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Anna was an avid sleeper.

If let loose to do as she pleased, she'd sleep for days on end, just because she could. In thirteen years' worth of loneliness, sleep had become her refuge. The longer she slept the less time she had to think about all the why's pertaining to her older sister's isolation, the questions she had never been given answers to, until that fateful day. Even now, after the Coronation incident and subsequent Thaw, Anna still slept until her internal clock woke her at noon. Nothing could wake the redhead during the night, for Sleep had a tight and jealous grip on the girl. The only exception would be when the sky awoke. The lights had an intimate connection that Sleep could not substitute, no matter the cost.

Splayed out like an elegant starfish upon her bed, the redhead's snores dropped away with one loud snort before she woke. Heavy lids opened lethargically to reveal sleepy oceanic teal staring blearily at her darkened room. She blinked seeming to realise that she was in fact awake while the sun was not. She shifted, turning on her side to face her triangular window and frowned softly. Even the sky outside was fast asleep, no lively green lights dancing to a music less tune. Teal disappeared behind her lids and she plunged back into dreamland with ease.

What seemed like seconds later she became aware of consciousness creeping upon her again. With a long groan she sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes.

"All I wanna do," she slurred irritably with sleep, scanning the room in search of whatever woke her up again. "is go back to sleep 'n whack dat wolf dat looked like Hans in'de face with ma lute. Is'sat too much to ask?"

Her room was devoid of anything out of the ordinary, no creaking wooden noises of the breathing castle or fluttering drapes that hung on her canopy, that used to wake a young toddler in her previous years, resounded around her. Nothing looked different. Shadows clung in the corners of her room and through the open door leading to her and Elsa's dressing room. A week or so after the Thaw Anna sprung the idea of a shared dressing room quite spontaneously. Elsa had hesitated for the briefest of moments before a smile like the sun breaking through dark clouds graced her features. She had moved out of her old room immediately, transforming it into a store room of sorts, putting an end to her hiding, signalling the start of her healing. And moved into the second room next to Anna's, converting it into a dressing room they now shared.

Anna stared at the void, ears straining to receive the slightest of noises… Just as she was about to give up and force Sleep to capture her yet again, she froze.

A sound.

Resembling that of bees buzzing busily drifted towards her faintly. She recognised this sound. Instead of numerous individual vibrating wings that characterised a hive, _this_ sound was singular. She had heard it in varying frequencies since the Thaw two weeks ago; this was the first time it was so low it almost vibrated in her chest. Anna hadn't really thought about the 'ability' that she had received after the incident on the fjord had played out.

She could sense her sister's magic.

Whether or not her freezing solid by said magic had made her more aware of it, she didn't know and quite frankly she didn't care. She liked to think of it as her own measure of supernatural powers. She'd rather have wanted the ability to fly to visit far-off places instead, but knowing to be there for her sister whenever she was overtly stressed or to even be there _before_ the blonde knew she needed her, was so much better.

The spitfire, still slightly groggy from her slumber, slithered out from underneath her sheets. Almost tripping in the process of untangling her legs, she caught herself and walked towards the dressing room as determinedly as her groggy mind alowed. The darkness swallowed her and she squinted to see a weak sliver of moonlight illuminating her surroundings half-heartedly, Anna mused that the moon must be as tired as she was. Concern for her big sister is all that spurred her sleep addled mind forward, her body following begrudgingly.

With her 'superpowers' of deduction on all things pertaining to Elsa's magic came with it an acute sensitivity to the cold. She had had a fond affinity towards the cold before, it had always signalled the beginning of Winter and snowmen and snow angles and snowball wars and just _snow_. It had reminded her of her big sister in a way. After everything that had happened two weeks ago, she understood why. But now, instead of feeling the cold like an ordinary person, she felt it much more deeply than before, right inside of her bones. The slightest ice laced breeze from the mountains sent her shivering as if she had been baptised in glacial waters. Luckily she had fireplaces, winter dresses, and people to keep her warm – people like Kristoff.

Anna stood before her sister's door, still closed but unlocked and felt a chill trickle down her spine. The cold shuddered through her body as she rubbed her heart absentmindedly. Somehow the electrons in her brain were awake enough for her to understand that she would most likely suffer hypothermia if she entered her sister's room in her summer sleeping gown. She just stood there in indecision, barely awake enough to wade through the gelatine that was her cognition. The vibration in her chest from the low magical tremor amped it up a notch, startling Anna from her sleep induced stupor.

Elsa was in trouble.

That much she understood. Perhaps not physical trouble, more emotional, but it was trouble nonetheless. The Princess sprang into action, lunging to her side of the dressing room. Tumbling through her crimson curtain dividers that seemed black in the shadowed room, she tripped over a wayward shoe, found her centre of gravity tip forwards too quickly to stop her oncoming fall.

Not that she didn't try.

Flailing hands grabbed air before it grabbed a hold of cloth. Her relief was short lived; the cloth she held onto for dear life was that of her numerous dresses that hung on flimsy coat hangers. It was too much for the hangers accustomed to the fabric's light weight. They broke with a wooden snap and she fell in a muted heap and a silent "Oof".

"Right," she muttered under her breath, " 'Don't just throw your shoes behind the curtain, Anna.'" She mimicked her sister's annoyingly knowing voice and stood up between the dresses that hung on either side of her, " 'Put them away before you hurt yourself, Anna.' Boy am I glad she didn't see that and tell me, 'Told you so.' She can be such a Stinker – what am I doing in here again? Oh right, cold. Cold – I need warmth. Where even is it? It's so dark in here. My winter things are over– ugh, just grab something and put it on! Nobody got time."

Groping blindly, she brushed fingertips across something thick and woollen.

"Yessssss."

Ripping the dress off the hanger, she shrugged into it as fast as she could.

" 'Kay, need boots... Boots, boots, boots. Where are my – Oh, right by the entrance. 'Cause, ya know, midnight snowmen building and all that. Needa keep 'em close. I'll get 'em on my way out. Gloves?"

The temperature took a sudden and drastic dip, Anna sucked in her breath to suppress a shiver. She turned her head towards where she knew her sister's door to be, glimpsing it through the parted curtains, before she snapped it back forwards.

"Gloves." She kicked her way through the pile of dresses on the floor towards the back of her closet, "My fingers don't like frostbite… Glo – oh, forget it!" she pivoted on her toes in unusual grace, "Use socks or sumthin', just get to Elsa."

Anna popped her feet into her winter boots whilst fumbling around the shelves for warm socks and found a pair as soon as both her feet were toasty. The curtains billowed out as she practically shot through them, pulling her long winter socks over her hands and up her arms over her sleeves.

She grabbed the door handle, thanking the gods that she had found a pair of socks thick enough to chase away the chill that met her as soon as the door opened a crack. It refused to open any further. A breeze followed by a scattering of snowflakes escaped the confines of Elsa's room while Anna struggled to get inside. Lips pulled into a tight frown; she forced the door open, it scraped across hardened frost on the floor far enough for her to slip in. Each step she took towards the bed crunched underneath her heavy duty boots, snow winked in the weak moonlight as it fell and danced in the breeze Elsa created even in sleep. All this was lost to the redhead, who only had eyes for her sister's restless form.

Restless was one way to put it; Elsa was twisting and turning so much Anna thought she might still be awake until a new sound joined the more incessant hum of her magic.

"No." a whisper drifted with the snow. "Please…"

"Elsa?" she ventured uncertainly, stepping closer to the side of the bed.

Anna knew enough about her big sister to realise that she was having a nightmare, or experiencing the beginnings of one. The first time it happened, Anna stumbled right into a miniature blizzard raging in Elsa's room. Luckily the blonde had woken herself up before it got worse and all Anna had to do was comfort her distraught sister until she was calm again. It had happened again after that first night, many times, but Anna was still unsure as to the approach she had to take in order to wake her sister without getting hurt in the process. It would be an accident if she got hurt again, she knew that, but still –in the back of her mind – a small shred of hesitancy lingered. It wasn't fear. Anna would never be afraid of her big sister. But she was more cautious and aware of the danger her powers possessed.

Elsa was panting heavily, eyes screwed shut so tightly her forehead was scrunched in effort.

"Y-you're lying…"

"Elsa?"

Anna stepped closer, her heart aching at the sight of her usually strong and controlled sister trembling with her snowflakes.

"Elsa, wake up."

"I…" her frown deepened, "She…"

"Elsa." Anna placed her hand on a cold shoulder and shook it softly. "You need to wake up."

"She's …" her trembling increased, the snow contrasting her by halting in mid-air. "Anna…"

The youngest closed her eyes in sorrow and understanding washed through her. It was _that_ dream again; the one where her beloved sister relives the worst day of both of their lives.

"Elsa…I'm right here." She opened her eyes and shook her sister's shoulder more urgently, "It's not real."

"Anna…I – didn't – mean – t-to," She shook her head, her voice thick with tears that have yet to reveal themselves "I didn't –"

"Elsa, wake up."

The blonde choked on a sob and jerked awake. Rivulets flowed from her eyes, no longer being held back by the dam that had been her lids. She blinked as she registered something on her shoulder and turned her head towards it. Anna had kneeled next to her bed in order to be a less imposing figure to wake up to. Last time she had loomed over her sister waking from a nightmare, she had almost been struck by her magic again. Elsa couldn't see that it was Anna and not some stranger in her bedroom. She had only seen a silhouette with birds' nest hair.

Anna knew better now.

In the diluted moonlight, she watched her sister closely, could see understanding flood her icy eyes and recognition settle in the aftermath.

"Anna?"

"It's me." She answered with a small smile, "You're okay."

"A-are _you_ okay?" Elsa asked hesitantly, thanking Odin that it seemed that she hadn't hurt her little sister again.

"I'm fine."

The young blonde sighed through her nose, exhaling deeply to still the ache in her thumping heart.

"It was just a dream?"

"Just a dream." Anna confirmed gently.

Elsa sat up in her bed prompting her sister to stand up from the floor, "You should get back to sleep." Anna instructed with a disapproving lilt. "I think dawn's still hours away."

"I just need a minute…" came the timid replay.

Sheets ruffled, a match was struck and a flame sizzled into existence, lighting up a tired face that had nothing to do with the sleep she was missing. The flame birthed another one on the bedside lamp the blonde kept close for times like these. When she just had to chase away the shadows of her nightmare that threaten to cobweb her mind to trap her in melancholy. The match was waved out and placed in the box she took it from. Elsa turned the lamp's nob once, brightening the flame and closed her eyes at what she saw.

Her entire room, no doubt, was caked in frost; the only similarities it had with ordinary frost being the fact that it was white. _Her_ frost was bigger and much sturdier. They usually grew into stalagmites if she didn't wake up in time. Snowflakes hung in the air, twirling so slowly it seemed they didn't twirl at all. Anna took this all in, thinking that this had been a good night so far. No angry red light pulsed in the frost. It was just – frost, albeit a bit bigger than normal. No ice. Just frost and snow. The flame danced, throwing shadows of orange warmth to sway on the white walls.

The youngest returned her attention to her sister when she saw her move in her peripheral vision. Teal locked with Ice and the two just stared at each other. Elsa's blank face twitched into confusion.

"What are you wearing?"

"Huh?" Anna breathed, blinking stupidly.

The blonde's confusion softened into affection. "What are you wearing?"

"My clothes?" Anna looked down at them and grimaced, "Oh – right, well…I couldn't really see, what with it being the middle of the night and all, so I just took whatever felt thick enough – okay listen, I didn't know I took my winter _undergarments_ instead of a dress."

"Did you know you took socks instead of mittens?" she asked with a hint of a smile curving her lips.

"That," the redhead drawled with a grin, "That I did know. They're way warmer than my gloves I'll tell ya that."

The smile dropped away faster than it had formed and Elsa swept her eyes over her room, coming to a stop at her sister. She almost disappeared into the white of the room. If it wasn't for her red bedhead and dark ice harvesting boots as well as her summer green dress peeking out from underneath her white undergarments – which wasn't on the right way – Elsa wouldn't have seen her.

But she did.

She saw what her sister had gone through just to brave her frostbitten room. Thank Mímir, the Norse god of knowledge, that Anna had thought about dressing warmly.

 _Tonight she remembered_ , Elsa thought, _but what about next time? What if she bursts in here again without the proper protection._ I'm _supposed to protect_ her, _I'm the big sister. I should protect her…I didn't mean for this to happen. Why can't I just be normal?_

"Els, it's not your fault." Anna said, mistaking Elsa's expression with that of guilt.

"Frosting my room and making it snow is not my fault?" Elsa countered icily. She was so, so tired of placing her sister in danger.

"Well, no. No, that kinda is – but it's not a bad thing!"

"How? How isn't it bad? Anna, I could've hurt you. _Again!"_ She seemed to fold into herself, the snow responded in an immediate downwards spiral.

Anna bit her lip knowing what she was about to say would probably escalate this whole situation tenfold. "Yes, you could have."

The snow froze in mid-air again along with the breath inside of its mistress. The young blonde woman looked so much like a little child right then and there that her sister had to force herself to continue instead of apologising profusely.

"You could have." She repeated gently, "But you didn't."

"That doesn't matter." She refuted tiredly, "The fact remains that I could have hurt you."

They've had this argument before. Anna couldn't understand why her sister dabbled with all the 'what if's' when those 'what if's' didn't even exist. Her sister couldn't understand why either.

"Sis, look at me." She instructed. Elsa obeyed. "I'm alive and well. You had a bad dream. It's not real."

"But it was." She whispered, hugging herself. "You did die…on the fjord."

So she had been right; it was _that_ dream. She moved towards her sister seated in her bed slowly.

"The only difference in my dreams are how you die…H-hans would slice right through you, o-or you'd break into millions of pieces as his sword hits you, o-or you w-won't t-thaw or – o-or –"

"Shhh…" Anna sat next to her and hugged her tightly, "It's okay. It's okay…"

She held her sister while she cried, desperately searching for comforting words to help her move on. Her mind, fully awake but not acting like it, came up with nothing to give her. Instead, Anna followed its example and just stayed quiet.

Elsa shifted in her arms, placing her ear over Anna's heart as an anchor, prompting the youngest to lean back against the headboard to be more comfortable. Eventually the steady beat of her sister's heart coupled with her rhythmic breathing calmed her enough to stop crying. Her dreams might not have been real, but the immense amount of pain she felt each time she relived that day was real. It was real because it came from experience.

Anna had died.

She had been gone.

Frozen.

But she had thawed as well…

She was alive right now.

Alive and warm and soft – not dead and cold and hard.

"J-just…" Elsa breathed deeply, shuddering as she sat up from her sister's embrace. "Just don't give up on me…"

Anna stared at her incredulously. Did she honestly think –?

"I-I'm working through it." She continued, staring at her hands in her lap, "Please, just don't give in. I won't let you down." Here she glanced up at her sister only to drop her eyes quickly. "It – I…"

"Elsa." Anna said firmly, making the young woman flinch. "I'd _never_ give up on you."

The blonde dared to look up at her sister then. Determination mingled with love in her teal orbs and Elsa sighed in relief. She needed to be reminded of it every now and again.

"I'm sor –"

"Don't." she interrupted, "Don't be sorry. I understand you need a reminder, you can't remember everything, you know." Her face softened and Elsa smiled, truly smiled.

A yawn decided right then and there to split Anna's face; she smacked her lips together sleepily and rubbed her eyes to rid herself of the tears that formed there.

" 'Kay…" she murmured standing up from the bed, "I'm gonna–" one look at her big sister's face made her change her mind about returning to her bed. "Ima sleep 'ere tonight."

Relief washed over Elsa's face and Anna pretended not to notice. The frost retreated slowly, disappearing into the air, returning the room to normal. The redhead ripped her socks off her arms and fell onto the bed face first. Elsa giggled fondly, scooting up to make more space for her sister. Anna shifted, climbing underneath the covers after she kicked her boots off. She snuggled closer to her sister as the eldest blew the flame out with a flick of her wrist. The room plunged into darkness. Sheets ruffled as Elsa settled in next to her sister.

Anna was asleep almost instantly.

A faint 'Thank you' echoed in her consciousness before Sleep reclaimed her.

Elsa watched her redhead sleep a while, feeling her own eyes begin to tire and Sleep tug her into its embrace. Before she permitted its hold on her, she hugged Anna closer to her and fell asleep listening to her heartbeat.

That hum that had awoken the young Princess earlier that night had, for the time being, ceased to exist. No nightmares plagued the Queen again that night. The sisters slept peacefully, surrounded by love and hope. They'd get through this; they only needed each other in order to do so.

And be there for each other, they will.

Until the end of time itself.

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 **There ya have it. I'll upload the second part soon. Please R &R, I'd love to grow as a writer so CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome :) **

**I didn't force you to read this story so please don't force me to read your negative comments that won't help anybody.**

 **Thanks :) We writers are sensitive beings, encouragement is always a must have accessory :D**


	2. Elsa

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 **'Kay peeps, here's the next and last installment.**

 **Enjoy :)**

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Elsa was an avid learner.

She loved to learn new things and apply them practically, to figure out how things worked or be proven wrong about things she thought were right. She had learnt many things during her isolation in order to distract herself from her reality. And thus having practised the habit for so long, she found herself in her study, still awake whilst the whole castle and most probably the entire kingdom, were fast asleep. The other reason she had to stay up so late – or early – was because her sister had convinced the Queen that the need to build a snowman had far outweighed the need to do 'kingdom thingies' as Anna called them.

So now she had to catch up on the work she would've finished earlier because the need to build a snowman had in fact outweighed the other.

Cerulean eyes felt heavy as she read the minister of agriculture's flowing scrip describing the effect the sudden winter had had on their crops farther inland. Three weeks had passed since that fateful day, and Elsa thanked the gods repeatedly each time a report informed her that her magic had not affected her kingdom in any negative way. She was planning on making a trip throughout her kingdom to put her people's minds at ease about her powers. All of this had already been discussed with Kai, her most trusted advisor, but she had yet to discuss the possibility of a kingdom wide tour with her sister and convince herself that she wouldn't freeze the kingdom again if she decided to go through with this.

Her fear had lessened, in regards to her powers, but it still leaped whenever she thought about seeing people she didn't know and then trying to convince said people that she is not a wicked Ice Witch of the West. Still, her logical side usually fought off her irrational fear when she thought of how her people in Arendelle had accepted her. Perhaps things would've turned out worse if her magic had damaged the kingdom more drastically…

Elsa shuddered, banishing images of burning torches and pitchforks out of her mind.

Glancing up at the grandfather clock in her study, she stretched and became aware of how tired she truly was. It wasn't unusual for her to stay awake until the early hours of the morning, she had stayed up until three hours before dawn a few times before, trying to right the wrongs her Winter in Summer had caused, like fixing the numerous ships that had been destroyed on the fjord during her blizzard, stranding dignitaries for an indefinite amount of time.

She glanced at the clock again, then down at the report. Its flowing scrip started to move and grow like the crops it was describing. She rubbed her eyes, the words had returned to normal when she looked at them again.

 _Perhaps it's time to call it a night._ she thought pushing her chair away from her desk.

Walking down the hall towards her bedroom, she had to pass her sister's door to get to her's. The blonde's sleepy brain vaguely detected an abnormality in the air and Elsa paused with a frown. She stood in the darkened hallway and listened.

Not a sound was heard.

Elsa fervently enjoyed the silence and would often retreat to a secluded area just to be… but tonight the silence made her uneasy. Something was missing. Some or other noise. She had trouble putting two and two together for her mind had already decided to fall sleep, she stood there blinking slowly. As soon as the dots connected, her head whipped around towards her sister's door.

It was quiet.

The usual pulsing snore that Anna was famous fo,r couldn't be heard. Elsa's sleepiness fell away so quickly, she stumbled standing still.

"Calm down…" she told herself as she turned towards the door. "She's probably still in there."

Taking a deep breath to quieten her stirring magic, Elsa opened the door to the familiar room. It opened noiselessly making the blonde wish something had disturbed the silence, hoping her sister's snores would. Icy eyes found the bed easily as well as the lump that thereon.

"Anna?" she called softly, concerned that her sister wasn't really moving or splayed out like she normally was.

She took a step forwards, and another and another until she stood right next to the bed and could clearly see her sister breathing, even though the redhead's back was towards her. The frown Elsa had worn since she had become aware of the silence didn't lessen, it deepened into legitimate concern.

Anna was breathing, but she was breathing too quickly for it to be normal. It's like she had been running. She was panting. After every other gust of breath, Elsa heard a whimper of sorts emitting from the bundle on the bed.

"Anna?" she called a little louder, walking around the bed to face her sister. "Are you alright?"

The redhead didn't respond leading Elsa to believe that she might still be asleep. Anna's teeth were bared in what looked like a grimace of pain, her eyes screwed shut so tightly it looked as if she truly was in pain.

"Anna? W-wake up."

Elsa was beginning to become frightened. Had she unintentionally hurt her sister again? Is she suffering from having been frozen just weeks prior? The temperature dipped ever so slightly, but she kept a tight hold on it. She could control her magic now.

Love.

Love was the answer.

 _No._ Elsa sifted through her memories made earlier that day. _No, I didn't hurt her. That stripe hadn't returned. But then why…?_

The young woman kneeled and took a deep, calming breath. Her magic stilled inside of her, leaving it to hover close to the surface instead of bucking and rearing for an escape.

"Anna?" she tried again, reaching out to brush her red hair out of her face, the hair that had already made its upward accent into the air during her slumber.

As soon as Elsa's cool hand touched Anna's forehead, teal eyes snapped open and she jerked upright in bed. The eldest flinched at the sudden movement and lost her balance, falling backwards onto her rear. She sat on the floor looking up at her sister gasping for breath while rubbing her arms warm. Had she let the temperature drop again? No. She could feel her magic swirl inside her, restless, but it had not reached the point where she'd affect the environment around her.

Not yet anyway.

"Anna?" she whispered, uncertain as to what else she should do.

The youngest started at the unexpected noise and looked to her right, barely seeing her sister sitting on the floor looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Elsa?" she asked, confusing ringing in her voice. "W-what are you doing?"

"I-I came in to see if you were alright and…" she hesitated, climbing to her feet again, "A-are you alright?"

Silhouetted against the moonlight streaming in from the triangular window, Elsa looked down at her sister and worried her lip. Anna suppressed a shiver at the image her sister made, it reminded her of the nightmare she had been having: of Hans silhouetted against the light flooding into the library as he loomed over her freezing form.

"Yeah," she closed her eyes and took a calming breath, "I'm fine. What time is it?" Anna asked looking up at her sister again.

"Just past three, I think."

"Did I wake you?"

"No…I was already awake." Elsa shifted from one foot to the next, wringing her hands anxiously. "Are you sure you're okay? It looked like you were in pain just now…"

Anna sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. She hadn't really been sleeping well. Nightmares plagued her during her sleep frequently; sometimes she had three consecutive terrors, like tonight. She'd wake from one only to fall back into another. Keeping it a secret from her sister had been difficult, but she's had years of practise at putting on a brave face. Her sister didn't need to worry about her when she already had enough to worry about as is.

When Anna lowered her hands, they fell limply to her lap. She couldn't hide it anymore. She had to talk with her sister.

"C-could you sit next to me?" She whispered.

"Alright." Elsa answered just as quietly, trying to smile "Move over."

Anna shuffled over and opened the covers to admit her sister, with an unseen raised eyebrow Elsa slipped off her shoes and climbed under the covers. Both sisters sat back against the headrest, staring into the darkness blanketing Anna's room. Elsa dared a glance at her sister to see her fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

"What's wrong Anna?" she asked silently.

"Don't be mad." The redhead blurted.

"Why would I –? Did you break something again?"

"What? No, no I haven't…okay fine I did – but that's not why you shouldn't be mad."

Elsa felt herself smile in the darkness, "Why then?"

Anna sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, a gesture Elsa had realised early on meaning that she was insecure about something. Her red bedhead dropped to her knees and she mumbled her answer.

"Excuse me?"

The youngest repeated herself without lifting her head from her knees.

"You didn't want a furry me?" Elsa asked, saying what she thought she heard her sister mumble. "I have a fur gown, if that's ehat you're talking about. It had been sent as a gift from Russia, but I haven't worn it ever. And I'm not planning to. Imagine the image I'll create – I'd really look like the Snow Queen if I did."

"What?" Anna asked lifting her head, bemused. "I didn't say anything about fur. Wait, you have a fur gown?"

"It's somewhere at the back of my closet, along with all the other dresses I had been given…"

"Ugh, like that vile orange dress that looks more like a pumpkin than anything else?"

"Among others." Elsa smirked, relaxing against the headrest. The silence returned.

"I didn't want to worry you." Anna confessed softly.

"Worry me in what way?"

Another sigh escaped the redhead's lips. "I didn't want you to worry… _about_ …me."

"Are you hurt?" Elsa asked concerned, "Did Kristoff –"

"Kristoff didn't do anything." Anna interrupted before her sister jumped to conclusions. "We're just getting to know each other. That's all."

"Okay…" _This is awkward._ "So, why – ? Anna, just tell me what's wrong."

"What got your legwarmers in a twist?" Anna countered somewhat angrily, "You're not the one who had to fight through three nightmares already."

"Anna," the eldest sighed, exasperated, "I haven't gone to sleep yet. I'm tired. I had to catch up on the work that I – Wait, what do you mean 'three nightmares'?"

A shuffled noise answered her question. Elsa assumed that noise meant that Anna had shrugged, but she couldn't be sure with it being as dark as it was.

"Could we light a lamp? I can't see – "

"No." Anna interrupted quickly, then softened her tone, "No, I-I feel more comfortable in the dark…"

"Okay." Elsa paused, trying to figure out what to say or ask first. She looked over at her sister still holding her legs and decided on her first question. "How long have you been having these nightmares?"

Another shuffling noise answered.

"Anna, I can't help you if you don't talk to me…"

The redhead tightened her hold on her legs. "Since the Thaw."

"The Thaw? You've been having nightmares for three weeks and you haven't told me?" Her tone wasn't accusatory, but Anna could hear sorrow in her sister's soft voice.

"I didn't want you to worry…" Anna repeated, trying to excuse it, feeling guilty that she had made her sister sad.

"It's my job to worry Solskinn," Elsa stated using the same term of endearment their mother had used, "Especially about you."

That did it.

That term, Solskinn meaning sunshine in Norwegian, was wat broke Anna's hesitancy and the last of her resolve to keep Elsa in the dark. Anna rested her head against her sister's shoulder causing the eldest to twitch at the sudden contact, but she didn't pull away. Instead she pulled her sister closer, the two of them settling down in the bed.

"I…" Anna sighed curtly, resting her head underneath Elsa's chin "I've been having nightmares about…what happened…"

Elsa closed her eyes and held her sister tighter, images of her frozen form flashed before her eyes.

 _She's scared of my powers, of me…That's why she didn't tell me…_

"It usually involves Hans locking me up in the library to freeze to death." Anna continued in an abnormal monotone, "Sneering in my face that he'd already killed you. Or I'd be on the fjord…"

Anna took a deep breath, stilling her emotions, "I'd try and stop him – from hurting you, but I'd freeze too early and _so_ _slowly_. Just inches away from you. And…I'd watch him r-run you through… I wouldn't be able to stop him."

Elsa waited for her sister to gather herself in the darkness.

"W-what's the third one?" she asked, opening her eyes to stare at the canopy.

"What?"

"You said that you had three nightmares…what's the third one?"

"Oh," Anna sighed, frowning, "That's one I hate the most…Remember when you told me about the…thing that happened at your Ice Palace with Weaseltown's goons?"

Elsa nodded, unable to trust her voice.

"This nightmare is the craziest, because I wasn't there. There are so many different scenarios that play out…"

 _She dreams about me killing them…I won't think of her any differently, I dream about that all the time…It's almost as bad as any nightmare with Anna in it._

"It always ends the same." Anna's voice interrupted her thoughts, "With them…k-killing you. And, and I _can't_ _stop_ _them_."

"Do you have others?" Elsa asked, needing to hear if her sister is afraid of her powers and what they can do as much as Elsa sometimes still is.

"No, those three are the ones I always dream about."

Could it be that her sister is not afraid of her powers?

She's definitely afraid of losing her, that much the blonde understood…but could it really be? Anna had burst into her room many a time in the past three weeks when Elsa had been having nightmares, so it would seem that she wasn't afraid at all. She had comforted the blonde in glacial temperatures wearing whatever she could get her hands on to brave the cold. It's even got to the point that Elsa had hung up an ice hook next to her door laden with winter clothes, so that Anna wouldn't have to struggle to get warm.

Now it was Elsa's turn to comfort her sister.

"You do realise that the dreams aren't real, right?" she asked, using the same words her sister uses each time she wakes Elsa up from a nightmare.

Anna nodded against her chest.

"And that I'm not planning on going anywhere any time soon, right?"

Another nod, albeit a bit hesitant.

"It's true Anna." Elsa affirmed, hugging her closer, "I won't leave you. Never again."

"W-what about the tour through the kingdom?"

"How'd you –?"

"I was walking passed your study when you were talking with Kai about it earlier today."

"Oh…I was going to discuss it with you at breakfast. Do you think that's why you were having these nightmares?"

Anna shrugged, "Could be, dunno."

"I _am_ planning on leaving for a tour alone," the blonde confessed quietly, "but I'm _never_ going to leave you again."

"How does what you just said make any sense?"

Elsa could hear the grin in her sister's voice, "But it does make sense, doesn't it?"

Anna made an affirmative noise, snuggling closer to her sister. They were silent for a while, revelling in the comfort they can give each other.

"Anna?"

"Hm?" came the sleepy answer.

"Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Thought you already were."

* * *

 **Alright, that's that. I've had some fun figuring out what each sister would do in this situation...perhaps you differ in what I have written, please drop a review or PM and we can gush about the characters :)**

 **Until next time.**


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